The end of an era and the beginning of something new

communityJan 17th 18

I have been in the crypto economy since the very early days. This was back in 2011 and since then I got to know the ups and downs of the market. I have seen the market crash from over $10 to almost zero, from $100 to under $10 and so on. On Monday morning, as I have always done for the last 6+ years, I was shocked after checking the Bitcoin price. The first thing that came to mind was: This is the end.

What scares me this time is that there are other players in the game now. In the early days, when the word hodl was more or less born, I had contact with most of the major players and actors in the space and there was always one thing that we all agreed on: We want to change the world. So we fastened our seatbelts and went on the fun and thrilling crypto ride together.

It is the end of an era for me. I say this because, for many in the crypto space, bitcoin and other cryptos are no longer about changing the world - it became a way to make more (and fast) money. That is one of the reasons why people tend to panic and sell - People are afraid of losing money.

In my humble opinion, this is not how bitcoin should be treated. Bitcoin is the biggest experiment in the world so far and it has the potential to change the world as we know it forever. It is not, nor was it designed to be, a tool to get rich quickly.

Now, you shouldn’t think that this is the end of crypto as it is definitely not. It is the beginning of a new era. Companies like Telegram announce ICOs to create their version of crypto and money. Line will get into crypto and Mark Zuckerberg promised to take a look into crypto this year too. Not to mention that gold is also still there despite banks all over the world printing paper money. And guess what? Gold will still be there when paper money is gone. It is the same old story, all over again. We need something independent, a store of value that is not controlled by one of those big companies. A decentralized one.

If you think about it, cryptocurrency is the most logical thing in this capitalist world since it is openly based on the free market. Just a few years ago, banks were the most powerful institutions but that is coming to an end. Companies like Apple, Google, Facebook now have way more power than most banks.

For me, it is a logical step that these companies want to be able to print their own money and crypto is their gateway to win this game. I think that next year will probably be the biggest year for crypto that we have ever seen. Companies that had nothing to do with it will start diving into it and start projects dedicated to crypto.

The current downward trend is just a short-term thing before the big guys step on stage. All crypto guys are sitting in the front row to enjoy the show. I personally think it would be a shame to leave a show before it has actually started. Therefore, I urge all crypto enthusiasts to stay put. Stay in your seats, so that when the real show begins, you are able to enjoy the magnificent view from the front row.

Don’t panic, and as many, many times before: HODL on! We will reach the moon together and enjoy a fantastic show and we will always be able to say: We started this revolution.

Sincerely yours,
Jörg from Bitwala

DISCLAIMER

Because the information in this letter is based on my own personal opinion and experience, it should not be considered professional financial investment advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.